Many information processing apparatuses (or recording/reproducing apparatuses) have been proposed and in wide use. The apparatuses are capable of recording moving pictures and still pictures to magnetic tapes as recording media and reproducing recorded moving pictures and still pictures. These information processing apparatuses include VTR (Video Tape Recorder), digital VTR, video camera, digital video camera, and so on.
As the results of recent technological advances of random-accessible recording media such as hard disks and semiconductor memories in the reduction in size, the growth in recording density, and the enhancement in access speed, information processing apparatuses such as hard disk units and semiconductor memory recorders are proposed. The apparatuses use random-accessible recording media such as hard disks and semiconductor memories as removable mass storage media.
Unlike tape recording media such as magnetic tapes, hard disks and semiconductor memories are random-accessible, so that, when moving pictures and still pictures are recorded on these random-accessible memories, the recorded pictures may be manipulated with ease, this advantage widening the ranges of their uses.
A method is disclosed (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 08-221303) in which, when moving pictures and still pictures are recorded on disk medium as recording media, the recording areas and recording directions of moving pictures and still pictures are controlled in order to reproduce the recording moving pictures at high speeds.
However, the information processing apparatuses using random-accessible recording media such as hard disks and semiconductor memories involve the following problems:
(1) Transfer Rate
When hard disks and semiconductor memories are used as recording media, it is necessary to correctly specify the addresses on a recording medium at the time of writing and reading information signals (or data) on the recording medium, which in turn requires some time for recording data to a desired area and reading data from a desired area, sometimes making the margin of the transfer rate not enough for the processing of moving picture information.
For this reason, if, at the recording of moving picture information, the speed of recording the moving picture information to a recording medium is slower than that of supplying the moving picture information, a so-called overflow occurs, thereby sometimes having to forcibly end the recording processing because of the failure of the normal recording of the moving picture information.
If, at the production of moving picture information, the reading of the moving picture information from a recording medium is not in for its reproduction, a so-called underflow occurs, thereby sometimes having to forcibly end the reproduction processing because of the failure of the normal reproduction of the moving picture information.
(2) Usage Efficiency of Recording Media
Although hard disks and semiconductor memories are huge in their storage capacities, they are not limitless, so that the storage capacity of each recording medium must be used without waste, thereby enhancing the usage efficiency as high as possible.
(3) Load of Host CPU
Even if moving picture information must be processed at high speeds for example, the processing by the host CPU (Central Processing Unit) of each information processing apparatus for controlling each component thereof must be executed relatively easily to mitigate its load to always ensure its stable operation in any processing, maintaining its reliability at high levels.
(4) Compatibility with other Devices
Exchanging information with an information processing apparatus, which uses a hard disk or a semiconductor memory as recording media, a personal computer for example, requires the use of a same file system for example, making it difficult to execute information exchange.
(5) Installation of File Systems
To solve the problem mentioned in (4) above, a simple method may be that a file system used on the information processing apparatus, which uses a hard disk and a semiconductor memory as recording media, is installed on an apparatus such as a personal computer for example with which data are to be exchanged. However, the installation of file systems requires time and labor, so that this approach must be avoided as long as possible.
(6) Use of File Systems
File systems are always required for recording data to hard disks and semiconductor memories. However, depending on the configurations of file systems, it may take some time to find out the address of a desired data recording area from the information of a file system, thereby resulting in a delay in a read/write operation.
(7) Action against Power Failure
If the power is shut off at the time of recording moving picture information due to power outage or other causes, the moving picture information already recorded may become unusable, for which some good measures must be taken.
Thus, the use of random-accessible recording media such as hard disks and semiconductor memories involves the above-mentioned problems, which must be solved. Recently, the provision of various information processing apparatuses such as recording/reproducing apparatuses using hard disks and semiconductor memories as recording media is proposed, for which it is necessary to provide products cleared of all the above-mentioned problems, always operating with stability, high in reliability, and easy to use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, which is cleared of the above-mentioned problems, high in reliability, and easy to use and an information processing method and an information processing program, which are for use on this information processing apparatus.